Unbreakable Bonds
by AngelJester
Summary: Johnny supposedly ran away from the Fantastic Four after a fight with Sue but when he returns two years later things aren't what they seem.
1. The Argument

A/N: I don't own any of the Fantastic Four. I encourage people to read and review the story and feel free to make any suggestions. I want to admit that I did get the idea for Johnny's reasoning from a part of Atlantia's story _Firey Rebirth._

Unbreakable Bonds

Chapter 1

I'm not sure how old the characters are suppose to be so I'm going to make them up as I go along and the same goes with their pasts. So sit back and enjoy or at least try not to hate the story to much.

The crowd was large and the noise was deafening as the Fantastic Four worked to leave the scene of their most recent rescue. Three of the four seemed to hate the attention that they were receiving from the crowd after they had helped put out the fire and pull a family out of the building; however one was acting as if the attention was the best thing in the world as he smiled for the cameras and made jokes about what they did.

"Johnny," Sue finally snapped angrily.

"What," her younger brother asked innocently.

"Do you have to encourage them," she asked as she glared at her sibling. It had been a long day for all of them and there was nothing Sue would prefer than to go back to the Baxter Building and sleep the rest of the day away.

"Of course," he responded happily. "After all these are my adoring fans," he said cockily.

"Well it's time to go Tinkerbelle," Ben said gruffly as he turned to leave. "God knows staying out here watching you make a fool of us will be enough to completely ruin the day."

"I'm not making a fool out of anyone," Johnny defended himself turning his back to the crowd so he could face his three companions.

"Except your self," Sue said as Reed nodded in agreement.

"All I'm doing is enjoying my self," he said starting to get angry himself. "Maybe you should all try it sometimes."

"We don't need these paparazzi to enjoy ourselves," Reed said.

"Yeah we actually like to live in reality," Ben added.

"What is that suppose to mean," Johnny asked angrily, the crowd completely forgotten.

"He means that you need to start acting like an adult instead of trying to make yourself believe that you are anything more than a fad to these people," Sue snapped.

"Is that so," Johnny said as he stared at his friends. "Is there anything else you want to add to that or are all of you just jealous that I actua---."

"Why won't you just grow up," Sue interrupted not caring to hear what he had to say. "Get it through your thick skull?! That kind of attitude is either going to get someone killed because you'll be to focused on the cameras or you'll turn out like Dad whenever people quit cheering you on," she screamed as she finally let all of her frustration at the days events are her exhaustion get to her. Ben, Reed and the crowd all stood shocked, surprised at the outburst.

Johnny didn't say anything as he tried to keep the hurt off his face. The comment had really stung and he was half tempted to scream back his reasoning for his actions. To tell her and everyone else how he only acted the way he did for the crowd and cameras because he wanted the group to be accepted despite their difference. And the only way he knew how to do that was to have everyone accept them as celebrities instead of as potentially helpful, potentially harmful mutated freaks. He was the only one in the group who was able to give the people the gossip and headlines that would keep everyone feeling as if they were no different than movie stars. He was willing to go out every night and switch out girls just as often so that people saw him more at their level and thus seeing the team at their level. He knew that Reed was too much of a recluse to play the role, Ben was to intimidating, and Sue was too gorgeous and brilliant. That is why he had made his decision when he had heard about the crowd after the bridge incident that he was the only one who could be the face of the Fantastic Four. He honestly didn't like always being in the spotlight but if it meant they were accepted then he was willing to keep up his façade.

But instead of screaming back how he had done everything in the team's best interest despite how cheap and shallow it made him feel, he just stared at her as he continued to tell himself that he would never do anything to jeopardize anyone and there was no way he would turn to drinking as a cure all whenever his life seemed to be falling apart like his father had.

They all stood in silence until Johnny finally spoke up. "Is that really what you think of me," he asked softly. "You know what, don't answer that," he said with a sad laugh, "I probably don't want to know. I'll see you guys later," he added before he flew off without giving any of them a chance to say anything.

Sue just stared after the flaming form in the sky as what she said finally sunk in. She silently turned to her fiancé and friend, the regret obvious in her eyes. "I didn't mean it," she told them, silently willing them to believe her.

"We know," Reed told her as he walked over to her. "Why don't we get out of here, he'll probably come in later tonight and you two can talk then," he suggested.

"Ok," she agreed as the trio headed off to the Baxter Building. She took one final look at the sky where she had last seen her brother and couldn't help but feel as if something terrible was going to happen.

Later that night she stayed up waiting for her brother's return, but in the end Reed found her asleep on the couch when he got up the next morning. The day passed slowly for all of them as they worried for their youngest friend and by nightfall Sue was near hysterics as she once again camped out on the couch. This was her nightly routine until three months later when she finally admitted to herself that her baby brother, the one she had practically raised, the one person she knew who could laugh in any situation was not coming home. That night she started her new nightly ritual of crying herself to sleep.


	2. Two Years

Unbreakable Bonds

A/N: I don't own any of the Fantastic Four. I appreciate the reviews, please keep it up. I'm open to any suggestions. It can be from anything to what I need to improve to ideas that you think may make this story better. Enjoy.

Chapter 2

Johnny sat on his hard bed with his back pressed against the wall behind him as he stared at the door in front of him. He didn't acknowledge anything else in his surroundings since he had grown so accustomed to them since he had been brought to his prison nearly two years earlier. He could still remember that night as if it had been yesterday.

He had been heading back to the Baxter Building a few hours after Sue's outburst. He hadn't been sure what he was suppose to expect when he got there but there was no way he was going to leave Sue like that or at least that is what he had thought. One moment he had been walking down the nearly deserted sidewalk lost in thought and the next he was slumped against a building as he pulled a small dart from his neck as his body went numb and for the first time since the space accident he was cold. The last thing he saw before everything went black was a couple of men coming near him.

When he had awoken he had found himself in a small cell; there was a small cot made of fire proof material, a curtained area that served as a bathroom, and a ten foot distance from wall to wall, floor to ceiling with each made of a metal that he had yet to even dent let alone melt. All of his possesions had been taken away with the exception of his space suit.

Johnny had never considered himself claustrophobic but during the first few days of his imprisonment he knew exactly what it must feel like. And if the conditions were not bad enough the people who were holding him made the situation even worse. Everyday one man, Dr. Jacobs, would come in and talk to him. The conversations, if they could really be called that since Johnny hadn't spoken once in the past year, would always start off with Jacobs telling him the date. Why? He figured it was to make him know how much time they had held him prisoner and it pissed him off to no ends. The conversations would be over anything from the argument he had had with Sue before his disappearance which had been completely recorded and later broadcast, to his inadequacies as a human being. Whatever the conversation's topic it was always geared so that by the time it was over Johnny felt terrible.

Once the conversations were over they would leave him alone for what he guessed was about an hour before they would send in two armed men, both dressed in fireproof outfits covering them from head to toe. The men would always cuff him and give him a small dose of something that made it impossible for him to use his powers for nearly half an hour which was the exact time it took them on an off day to get to the lab where he was strapped down to a metal table, complete with metal restraints (all of which were made of the same material as his cell). The lab held the worst memories for Johnny. The 'scientists' who worked on him were complete sadists in Johnny's mind. They had yet to offer him any form of anesthesia though they gave him enough drugs to prevent infections that he was sure that they only withheld pain relievers because they enjoyed his misery.

He never really acknowledged what they had done to him and had long given up on getting them to tell him why they insisted on torturing him. He easily overlooked the scars that now marred his body. Some were caused by too many needles injecting him with drugs that made his powers do anything from go dormant to turn against him meaning that he would feel as if he were being cooked alive by his own body temperature. Others were from the 'scientists' literally cutting him open to see how he ticked before sewing him up again. Most of the other scars had come from his being 'disciplined.' Anytime he tried to resist them or did something else that displeased them they would actually whip him across his back. But the worst scars came from his 'training.'

After his lab sessions they would take him to a metal room that served as a gym. They would always place a collar around his neck during this time so they could control him from the other side of the indestructible glass that covered one wall which protected everyone in the viewing area as he fought whatever opponet they put before him. Every time he would act out of line or make a mistake on whatever he was told to do they would send a strong electric current through his body which reminded him of being zapped by Doctor Doom.

During these sessions they taught him various ways to use his powers and different fighting styles that incorporated his powers. He knew he was being turned into a weapon but he didn't know how he could stop it. The time in the lab always put him in to much pain or exhausted him to the point where he simply did as he was told to keep his tormentors from finding a new way to punish him.

After his training they would return him to his room where a tray of food would be waiting for him. He knew that they had drugs mixed in with it but he had no choice but to eat it. The drugs had originally left him to mind boggled to focus long enough to use his powers but to his relief he had already built immunity to those drugs and his capturers had yet to figure it out. After they left him in his room they would usually leave him alone for the day except for twice a week when they would send in various armed personnel who would restrain him and then clean and shave him. No matter how many times he went through the process he could never make himself relish the feeling of being clean since it was such a degrading process.

And to his growing horror over the course of two years his powers had changed, grown stronger actually. He wasn't sure if it was a result from what they gave him in the labs and his training or if it was natural step in the mutation. All he knew was that now, he had complete control over his own body's flames, of course that was only true when his mind wasn't clouded by drugs, he could also make things burst into flames with a mere thought and he had control over any flame he encountered. Unfortunately the people who held him knew this as well so that was one of the many things they tested him for.

The worst part out of all of this in Johnny's mind was the fact that everyday was like this. Nothing ever changed, not even in the slightest, and that fact alone nearly drove him insane. He had lost all control over his life. His life had turned into a nightmare during his waking hours and his only solace were his final thoughts before he would go to sleep, thoughts of Susie and his friends. For the most part, he only thought of the good times, but as time passed he couldn't help but wonder why they hadn't rescued him. He didn't want to believe that they hadn't looked for him at all, thinking he had run away. He hoped they knew him better than that but still the thought nagged at him, so now every time he thought of them he couldn't help but feel abandoned and yet he couldn't make himself quit thinking of them. They were his lifeline, his reason to fight. If nothing else, he wanted to get of his prison so that he could ask them why. Why didn't they save him?

Johnny continued to stare at the door as it slowly opened and he could barely keep the smile off of his face as the excitement coursed through him. Today Johnny Storm was going to execute the escape plan he had been working on for months. Today the Human Torch would be leaving his prison, one way or another.


	3. Johnny's Escape

Unbreakable Bonds

A/N: I don't own any of the Fantastic Four.

Chapter 3

"Hello Jonathan," Dr. Jacobs greeted. "Today is March 14th," he informed him with no hint of emotion as he stared at the clip board in his hand.

'Probably trying to decide what today's topic is,' Johnny thought as he stared at the notebook intently. That object was the first piece needed in his escape. He didn't waste any time before doing step one of his plan, which he finally felt strong and desperate enough to do.

"What the hell," Jacobs screamed as he dropped the clip board which was now completely covered in flames. The doctor quickly looked up his 'client' and his eyes widened when he literately saw flames in the eyes of the young man. The doctor then turned his attention to the empty tray on the floor by the bed. "But th-the drugs," he stammered as he backed up to the door as Johnny stood. The Torch only smirked at the man's distress as he made the fire from the clipboard rise so that it looked like a staff that was completely covered in flames.

He grabbed it, eyes still glowing, and gave it a practice spin as he concentrated on keeping it in its form. He found it ironic that he was using a technique they had taught him in his escape. His smirk changed into an evil, predatory smile as he continued to approach the man who was now fumbling with the lock in an attempt to get away. Just as Johnny swung his staff at the man the door opened as the man ran out of the door obviously hoping the armed guard would protect him.

The startled guard only had time to pull the gun out of its holster before Johnny skillfully knocked it from his hands. Now both men were cowering before him. Johnny inwardly laughed. 'This is too easy,' he thought happily as he knocked both men unconscious with his fist since he knew that despite what they had done to him he couldn't kill them out of cold blood.

Silently he made his way through the dark hallway being careful to avoid any of the personnel. He wandered around searching for an exit for what felt like hours though he was sure it had only been a few minutes when all of the alarms started going off and the dark hallways were lit up by flashing red lights.

'Looks like the party is about to start,' he thought as he gave up on his attempt to leave without being noticed. He quickly whipped around the next corner without even trying to hide himself, only to come face to face with five armed guards. None of them stood a chance as he easily knocked them out with his staff knowing that their uniforms would keep them safe from the flames. He continued with this method until he finally let out a frustrated sigh as he stared down at the fourth group of guards on the floor.

'At this rate I'll have to beat everyone before I find the exit,' he thought miserably as he began walking again. 'Please let me find the exit soon,' he silently prayed. His prayer was answered after disposing of another two groups when he finally found the exit. Wasting no time he quickly ran through the door as his staff disappeared and he flamed on and took to the skies. He continued to fly, hoping to get as much distance between himself and his prison, until he was too exhausted to continue. Cautiously he landed in a small clearing as he finally noticed the abundant forest he had been flying over.

'Where the hell am I,' he asked himself as he looked around the clearing with the little bit of light that the setting sun offered. All he could see were trees, bushes and other foliage. 'Well this sucks,' the thought as he slowly sat back against one of the many trees.

Moments later he was asleep but not before one single thought went through his mind that brought the first real smile to his face in the past two years.

'Susie, I'm coming home.'

A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short and that it took me forever to update. Hopefully I won't have any more major distractions. Also, thanks for all the wonderful reviews.


	4. Perfect Timing

Unbreakable Bonds

A/N: I don't own any of the Fantastic Four.

Chapter 4

Susie stood in the doorway to Reed's lab silently as she stared at the device that had taken away all of her hope that her brother was out there. She still remembered the day the Reed had first shown it to her and Ben a few months after her baby brother had gone missing.

As she looked at the small device now as it sat on a shelf alone she couldn't help but wish that he had never made the thing though a part of her was slightly grateful. Her eyes went to the blank screen as she recalled how Reed had told her that it was the only way they could find Johnny since the purpose of the device was to lock onto his unique heat signature.

She looked away from the device in disgust as she turned her attention to the sounds coming from the kitchen where Ben, Alicia, and Reed were having a late night snack but no matter how much she wanted to join them she just couldn't and she knew that everyone understood.

'I miss you Johnny,' she thought as a tear fell down her face. 'I know I should move on but I can't. You and I were the only family that we had left and now I'm all alone despite everything. You were my baby brother; nothing could ever replace what we had, not even my marriage to Reed.'

With tears still in her eyes she looked back at the device as she recalled that day that had crushed all her hope that her brother was out there somewhere safe.

****

**_Flashback_**

_"All that is left is to wait for it to sort out the different heat signatures before it tells us were Johnny is," Reed told them happily as he looked at his fiancé. He had thought up the device only days before and was kicking himself for it now since it had taken him three months to realize that it was actually possible to find Johnny and to spare Susie more sleepless nights. _

_"How long," Susie whispered as she stared at the device in awe. _

_"We should know by the end of the day at the latest but it should be able to locate him quickly," Reed explained. _

_"So this gizmo will find Matchsticks," Ben asked the hope obvious in his voice. He knew, as well as the others, that this was probably going to be their best hope. _

_"It should," Reed assured them. _

_The three waited in silence as the hours flew by but the machine never stopped its search. Finally Susie broke the silence by asking the question that everyone was scared of. _

_"What if it doesn't find something by the end of the day?" _

_"It…it means that the device can't find anything out there," Reed said quietly hoping they understood since he knew that he couldn't, wouldn't explain it better than that. If the machine didn't find Johnny's heat signature then it meant that Johnny wasn't giving off the heat and the only way for that to happen was if Johnny was dead. _

_The sun eventually set but none of them moved and they were all silently grateful that there hadn't been any emergencies they had to tend to. __Ben was the first to fall asleep in his chair and Reed followed shortly after, leaving Susie alone to stare at the device willing it to give her the answer she most desperately needed to hear. _

_'Come on Johnny, where are you? I can't lose you too,' she silently pleaded. _

_When Reed awoke the next morning the sight before him would permanently be engraved into his memory. Sue, the love of his life and the strongest person he had ever known, was all but asleep as she stared at his invention with bloodshot eyes that were surrounded by dark circles from lack of sleep and guilt. He didn't have to ask to know why; the machine hadn't found her brother. _

_"Susie," he said gently as he moved to sit beside her as he wrapped her up in a hug as tears came to his eyes. "I'm sorry," he whispered. _

_With his words she broke down into violent sobs as she finally turned and buried her face into his chest. _

_'I'm sorry Johnny,' he silently apologized to his youngest friend as he leaned forward and turned off the device knowing that it had done its job, it had told them that Johnny was dead. _

****

**_End Flashback _**

It had taken time for any of them to move on, each tried to cope in their own way while taking all of their pent up frustration out on whoever they came up against while protecting the city. Reed either buried himself in his work or spent his time trying to comfort his fiancé, Ben became quieter and he spent more time with Alicia, as for Sue, she spent her time in her brothers room trying to deny the fact that he was gone and that he would not becoming in there and attempt to make her leave his private haven.

Finally after a month of depression, some serious thinking and late night heart to hearts they all decided that they would have to move on. The first sign of life starting back up for the three friends was Ben's marriage proposal to Alicia who accepted and moved into the Baxter Building after Ben, Sue and Reed invited her. The next was Sue's and Reed's wedding.

Life moved on for the four but every now and then Sue would return to mourning her loss. While she had accepted that she had to move on there were some things that she would not allow anyone to change; the teams name or her brother's room which looked exactly the same as when he had left.

"Susie," a soft voice said from behind her. Quickly she turned to see the sympathetic face of her husband.

"Hey," she greeted quietly as she turned her back to the room and the device.

"Why don't you come join us," he said comfortingly. He hated to see her like this but he doubted that it would ever change.

"I-," she started as she glanced at the device again, "I just want to try it one more time," she whispered pleadingly.

Reed too stared at the device as he considered her words. She had asked him this before and he could never refuse her despite the fact that he was sure that it wasn't helping her to move on. With a small nod he stepped into the lab and to the device. After a moment of preparing himself for the same result that happened every time he turned it on, he flipped the switch.

The couple sat in silence for a few minutes before Sue whispered a nearly silent thank you signaling for him to turn it off as she turned to leave. Just as she was about to step out of the door and head to bed a loud beeping noise caused her to stop and turn back into the room.

"Oh my God," Reed said as he looked down at the device which was beeping and flashing information wildly. "It found him," he said in disbelief.

Sue ran to his side immediately. "Where is he," she asked desperately as she tried to see the screen.

"Well he…uh…this is impossible," he said still shocked.

"What?"

"It says he is in New York and moving at an incredible rate. I've never seen him go that fast but he is the only thing this machine is set to respond to so it has to be him."

"Reed?! Where in New York is he," Sue yelled in frustration.

"He…he should be out on the balcony," he told her.

Sue quickly raced to the balcony startling both Ben and Alicia. As she flung open the doors she thought her heart stopped as she skidded to a stop. She did not move as both Reed and Ben came up behind her, not that she noticed. She was to busy staring at the individual in front of her.

"Johnny?"

A/N: So what do you think? Good, bad? Hope it's to all of your liking. Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews and please feel free to offer any suggestions.


	5. Reunion

Unbreakable Bonds

A/N: I don't own any of the Fantastic Four. I encourage people to read and review the story and feel free to make any suggestions. Chapter 5

Johnny remained silent as he stared at his sister trying to convince himself that she was real.

"Johnny," Sue repeated with tears in her eyes as she quickly moved towards him and embraced him a hug. "Is it really you," she asked him as her tears finally fell.

Slowly, as if he too was thinking the same question as her, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head, enjoying the feeling of her warmth.

After several silent minutes the two finally separated though they remained close as Johnny finally noticed the other two people on the balcony. Both Reed and Ben were smiling happily as they watched the reunion. Finally Johnny looked back to his sister who was staring at him lovingly as she held his hand. His eyes lowered so that he could see her small hands holding his when he noticed the ring on her finger. He quickly turned his head so that he could see Reed's hand which also adorned a ring.

'They got married,' he thought as he looked back down to his sister's hand, missing the concerned look his sister was giving him. 'I missed her wedding. She got married without me,' he thought as he unwillingly started to feel betrayed, forgotten.

"Johnny," Sue said worriedly as Johnny stepped away from her as he continued to look at her hand.

"Ben," Alicia said as she stepped out onto the balcony. "What's going on?"

Johnny's eyes quickly moved to her as he searched her hand as well. 'Oh god,' he thought as he saw the ring on her hand as well. 'They all forgot about me. They all replaced me,' he thought as he felt his hurt and anger swelling inside him as he stepped as far from them as possible.

"Johnny, what's wrong," Sue asked worriedly as she stepped near him but she stopped when she saw his eyes or more like the fire she saw inside them. "Johnny?"

'What the hell am I doing,' Johnny asked himself when he saw the fear on her face. Closing his eyes he tried to suppress his hurt and his anger. 'Why am I upset? I should be happy for them. I mean it has been two years, I shouldn't expect them to put their lives on hold for me.'

Sue let out a sigh of relief when Johnny reopened his eyes and all she saw was the blue in them. Almost timidly Johnny stepped forward until he was right in front of his sister and he gently lifted her hand so that he could get a closer look at the ring.

'It's nice,' he thought still feeling slightly hurt. He looked into her face which was still covered in worry and gave her a smile before he pulled her into a tight hug and acted as excited as he could for her.

"Johnny? Johnny is back," Alicia asked hopefully.

"Yep," Ben said happily trying to keep the worry out of his voice as he watched the siblings. "Matchsticks is back."

"I'm so glad you're back," Sue said happily as they once again parted. "Where have you been? Are you ok?"

He just nodded as he looked everyone over. 'They have all moved on,' he thought feeling overwhelmed by the fact. 'I can't believe it, they have all moved on,' he kept repeating to himself as his head started to spin.

He vaguely felt his knees give out beneath him and heard a distant voice calling his name as his vision started to tunnel. The last thing that passed through his mind before his world went black was 'they don't need me.'

A/N: I know it took me forever to update and I am really sorry. I'll try to do better but I still may need people reminding me to update. Please review and I sorry this is so short.


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